Knowledge Base

Adding an ESXi host to vCenter Server fails with the error: Host cannot be added to the vCenter as there are not enough Virtual Center Agent Licenses (1018275)

Symptoms

You cannot add an ESXi host to vCenter Server

You see the error:

Host cannot be added to the vCenter as there are not enough Virtual Center Agent Licenses

Resolution

If an ESXi host is licensed with the free version of the license key, you cannot add it to vCenter Server. This license does not contain the VirtualCenter Agent, which is necessary to manage a host with vCenter Server. This feature remains locked as long as the host is licensed with the free version of the license key.

To add ESXi hosts to vCenter Server, you must license the ESXi hosts with:

Licensing the ESXi host with one these products unlocks the add-on features that allow you to manage ESXi hosts using vCenter Server. For more information about these products, see Compare vSphere Editions.